Punctureproof tire



' J.H. SMITH PUNCTUREPROOF TIRE Patented. July 15, 1924,

entren STATES iterate Parmi* ortica;

rUNcrURErnoor TIRE. I

Application. filed July 3.,

To all whom t may] concern: l

Be it known .that LJHN SMi'ri-n. a subject of the King of Great Britainand Ireland, and.r residing atwDetr'o'it, county of Wayne, and State'ofMichigan, have invented a new and Improved' Punctureproof Tire, ofwhichthe following is a specii'c'ati'on.v

This invention relates totir'es for automobiles, bicycles and thelilrefand has for itsprin'cipal object, the provision of an air'- iilledtire that will not become deflated when the tire is pierced by a sharpobject, such as a nail or broken glass.

Another object of invention is the arrangementof a cham-ber` betweentheftread and air-containingportion ofthe tire, which chamber is adaptedto be filled with a viscousliquid adapted to solidify upon contact withair. y

AL further object of invention is to provide in such chamber a pluralityof soft blunt elements, one or more of which is adapted to be engagedany nail, orthe like, that penetrates the tire tread,v and which willvthereafterI move. with the nail toward theair tube, whereby the sharppoint of the nail will be prevented from directly contacting withthe'air tube'.` y

The'abovel and other objects of my invention will be apparent from thefollowing descriptionl wherein reference ismade to the Y accompanyingdrawings illustrating. pre-y ferred embodiments ofmy invention,A and`wherein similar reference numerals designate similar `parts throughoutthe Several views. 1

In the drawings Fig'. l is a sectional view through a tire of the usualtype used for automobile wheels y, A' K' Fig. 2 is a similar viewof asingle tube tire such as is often used `for bicycles, and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the protecting discs.

Referring now to the drawings the numeral 5 designates the tread of anautomobile tire which may be constructed with a casing 6 of alternatelayers of fabric and rubber or cords and rubber in the usual manner ofautomobile tire casings and terminating in reinforced lbeads 7 adaptedto be held upon the rim 8. Within the casing 6 is disposed the usualinner tube 9 of comparatively thin resilient rubber adapted to bestretched by the air inflation t0: extend 1922.l serialv No. 572,409.

' andv supportr` thev tire casing in. the usual manner. l

Betweenv the inner tube 9 and the innermost wall of the casing 6 .Iprovide -iny puncture-resisting medium. In the embodiment illustrated inFig. l. a chamber is formed between the innermost wall. ofthe casing 6and an inner wall lO of rubber or rubberized fabric. vulcanized orotherwise secured at its edges to the casing. `Within such chamber I'insert a heavy yiscous liquid'. lll which will solidify when eXposed t0the air, such as melted glue or afcoin-positionhaving a gelatinous base.Byrthis construction am enabled to maintain a layer O f heavy liquidbehind the tire casing, whichy liquid will ooze slowly intozany cut oraperture in the casing. that reaches the outer wall of the chamber,l andwhichwill solidify upon contact of the airwhen it fills the cut oraperture, In this manner cuts or punctures that would ordinarily becomeenlarged. because ofwcontact with dirt, sand,. etc.,y will beautomatically Afilled up the solidified liquid from thechamber,.wliereby the life of the casing. will be materially increased.If a nail or the like penetrates through the casing .and y chamber soas, to puncture the inner tube 9, the liquid from the vchamber will inaA similar manner ef-V fectively seal' the openingY in the inner tubebefore any great amount of air Clan escape from the innertube., Thusafterl the 'nail 'or other punoturing object has been removed the liquidll will llup theaperture made Y thereby' in both the casing and', innertubeVV and not only prevent the "deiiation ofthe tube but will also`preserve the tire against further deterioration at. that point.

To protect the'innerl tube against puncture as muclr as possible and toprovide. a means for preventing a too rapid flow 'through an aperture orcut in the casing 6 I provide a plurality of detached semi-floatingmembers 1Q, within the chamber between the inner wall of the casingand-` the wall 10. In the embodiment shown the members l2 are shown asapertured discs of very soft rubber (see F ig. 3) and they are insertedwithin the chamber in suiiicient numbers to provide an overlappingcondition so that it would be practically impossible for a nail orthelike entering the chamber to engage the inner tube 9 without contactingone or more of the discs 12. When so contacted rby the point of a nailthe disc will move with the nail toward the inner' tube and will serveto: cover the sharp point of the nail and destroy its .tearing effectfor a. short period of time. In practice it is believed that suchresistance to puncturing the inner tube will be maintained a sufcientlength of time to ena-ble the discovery and removal of the embedded nailbefore the nail works its point through the rubber disc. Then the nailhas been removed the liquid 11 will flow from the chamber into theaperture thus formed and solidify therein. Even though the nail is notremoved until after it `has lpunctured the inner tube 9, the liquid 11willserve to seal the aperture in the inner tube as hereinbeforedescribed.

Another use to which the discs 12 are particularly adapted is to slow upthe rate of flow of the liquid 11 into'a comparatively large cut in thecasing such as would be ywith the solidified liquid.

caused by a piece of broken glass or the like. When no provisionis madeto plug the cut, the liquid flows out of the chamber 11 in suchquantities as to Waste the liquid while preventing the filling up of thecut In other words, the rate of flow is too great to permit the liquidto solidify. To prevent this one or more of the discs 12 bridges theinner eX- tremity of the cut in the casing and prevents the rapid escapeof the liquid 11. The liquidvvill, however, ooze through and around thediscs 12 ata comparatively slow rate and will thereupon solidify andslowly fill .the cut. f

In Fig@ 2 is shown a modification showing a single tube form of tiresuch as is often used with bicycles andthe like, and comprises a casingk6a terminating at its inner extremities in beads 7'a adapted for useWith a clincher rim 8a. No inner tube is employed with this constructionbut the space between the beads 7a is filled by a strip 13 of pliablerubber vulcanized or otherwise secured at its sides to the beads Ta.Between the innermost Wall of the casing 6a and a wall 10 of rubber orrubberized fabric, I introduce the liquid 11a and soft rubber discs 12a,substantially as described in connection with the modificationillustrated in Fig. 1. Whenever the outer wall of the casing is piercedby a nail or the like, the liquid 11a will serve to fill up theperforation and seal the tire to prevent further deterioration. No aircan escape from Within the tire until the inner Wall 10TL is pierced,and if this should happen the air can only escape by passing through theliquid 11a. The solidication of the liquid will effectively prevent suchescape. The discs 12a have the same double function as hereinbeforedescribed in connection with the embodiment illustrated in F ig. 1.

The arrangement of the pliable member 13 between the beads 7 permits themovement of one bead relatively to the other to facilitate the assemblyof the tire upon the clincher rim.

lVhile it will be apparent that the illustrated embodiments of myinvention herein disclosed are Well calculated to adequately fulfill theobjects and advantages primarily stated, it is to be understood that theinvention is susceptible to variation, modification and change withinthe spirit and scope of the subjoined claims.

Having described my claim 1. A tire having a casing and anair-containing portion within the casing, a wall spaced from theinterior of the casing, a. heavy viscous liquid arranged within suchspace and adapted to solidify upon contact with air, and a plurality ofmembers of soft rubber within the liquid.

2. A tire having a casing, a Wall secured adjacent its edges to theinner Wall of the casing and at other points spaced from the casing toform a chamber, a viscous liquid contained in said chamber and adaptedto solidify when in contact with air, a plurality of apertured discs ofsoft rubber arranged within the chamber, and means for invention, I

holding air under pressure within the casing on the opposite side ofsaid wall from said chamber.

In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand.

JOHN H. SMITH.

Witnesses REX Fem, C. M. GUMMINGS.

